Who He Really Is

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The sun shined brightly as Jane made her way to work that morning after spending a little more time on her hair and make-up than she usually did, as she crossed the street to the café.

She could hear his voice in her head requesting her presence at the same café to meet him for coffee that day as she recalled the online gaming chat room she’d met him in a few weeks earlier.
Although it wasn’t like her to meet strange men that she’d only spoken to a handful of times, like him she had felt an instant attraction and was intrigued by his voice enough to agree, not telling him that she’d actually worked there.
Jane actually had made a rule when she started online gaming a few years earlier when she was a freshman that she would never get involved with someone she gamed with and here she was, ready to break her own rules.
It was her first year out of university and she’d gotten the job through her friend Rachel who’d worked there while going to school.
It was a fairly easy job and the owners Mr. & Mrs. Wang were very nice people, it was their son Mark that could be a bit difficult at times, but Jane and Rachel learned that if they did exactly what he’d asked, he left them alone for the most part.
The shifts were great too because they were mostly during the day, which meant that she could enjoy her online gaming in the evening and at night.
She could see Rachel wiping the windows as she walked in.
“Good morning!” Jane greeted her friend as the overhead bell jingled announcing her entrance.
Rachel looked up and smiled, not knowing anything about Jane’s potential stranger coming in and commented, “Oh good, you did your hair. I was going to text you and let you know but you would have left already. Apparently the whole café is booked today for a private party and Mark has insisted that he wants everything to be perfect.”
Unaware that the café was booked, she knew that there would be no way that her online “friend” would be able to come in as planned and as anxious as she was to finally meet him, her heart sank a bit knowing it wasn’t going to happen today.
Jane went to the back to put away her purse, grabbing a clean apron and slipping it over her head as Mark came up behind her.
“I want everything to be perfect today ladies, is that perfectly clear?” he said to Jane and Rachel in a loud voice insuring they would hear him.
Jane shook her head not wanting to upset him. Even though this wasn’t her dream job she still needed the paycheque so she could pay her rent.
Mark followed up, handing Jane a marker and piece of paper, “You have nice handwriting, make a sign for the door that says ‘Closed of Private Engagement’”, he told her.
“Oh, and add this logo on the sign,” he said handing her a photo of a phoenix.
Her heart stopped as she recognized the logo from the mystery man’s online gaming profile avatar and wondered if it was him who booked the whole café.
There was no way that she could say anything to Rachel and she definitely did not want Mark to know that she was the reason that the café was booked.
They would think she was crazy for thinking that this was all for her not to mention the embarrassment if she was wrong about her suspicions
About an hour later, there was a delivery of fresh orchids to the restaurant and Mark went to the door to receive them, advising the ladies to arrange them in a huge vase and place them on the table that was set for two.
“These are so beautiful,” Rachel said as she bent down to admire the delicate petals. Jane knew that each stem cost over twenty dollars and there were at least twenty-five stems in the vase once the ladies were done.
Just as they had finished placing them on the table, a man appeared at the door and Mark let him in, greeting him by name.
Jane was behind the counter and didn’t catch his name but he looked vaguely familiar and she wondered if she had seen him somewhere before.
As soon as she heard his voice, she knew it was him. He’d spoken so sweetly to her over her headset, it was a voice that she’d already fallen in love with before having even seen him.
Here he was, right in front of her and she didn’t know what to say, or whether she should say anything at all.
Deciding to stay quiet, she hid behind the counter as Rachel went out to take his order of café latte and a glass of water.
The man was tall with dark hair, blue eyes and looked like he frequented the gym often.
He was well dressed in a white dress shirt with no tie but the top two buttons were open revealing the soft hair on his chest.
He had on a pair of dark blue jeans that looked like they just magically jumped off the shelf onto his long legs, and brown leather dress shoes obviously imported from Italy.
His hair was perfectly trimmed and Jane could smell the enticing aroma of his cologne from where she was standing, making her wonder what he would look like naked.
“I don’t see any party here,” Rachel said as she came back behind the counter, “But I don’t mind looking at him either. Do you think he’s waiting for a woman? Maybe this is all for her?” she asked Jane giggling.
Jane smiled and quietly replied, “I’m not sure, but that would be a very lucky woman,” she concluded wishing she had it inside her to go over and introduce herself.
“Very lucky indeed,” Mark added as he walked towards the table with the man’s order.
Since they were closed to the public for the day, Mark reluctantly agreed to let Jane and Rachel take their lunches together as long as they went out for lunch.